Engineering Commons^™

Correcting Errors Due To Species Correlations In The Marginal Probability Density Evolution Algorithm, Abiezer Tejeda

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Synthetic biology is an emerging field that integrates and applies engineering design methods to biological systems. Its aim is to make biology an “engineerable” science. Over the years, biologists and engineers alike have abstracted biological systems into functional models that behave similarly to electric circuits, thus the creation of the subfield of genetic circuits. Mathematical models have been devised to simulate the behavior of genetic circuits in silico. Most models can be classified into deterministic and stochastic models. The work in this dissertation is for stochastic models.

Although ordinary differential equation (ODE) models are generally amenable to simulate genetic …

A Computational Framework For Dam Safety Risk Assessment With Uncertainty Analysis, Anruag Srivastava

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Event tree analysis is a commonly-used method in dam safety risk analysis. Event trees are used to obtain quantitative estimates of the probability of dam failure and its associated consequences. This can be done to evaluate the safety of an existing dam or to provide insights into the choice between risk reduction alternatives. In the past, the calculations have been performed using either generalized software developed primarily for business applications or purpose-built spreadsheets. However, these approaches lack generality, can require substantial effort, can be fragile, and are difficult to modify to represent risk reduction measures or to update using new …

Nutrient Contribution Of The Shallow Unconfined Aquifer To Pineview Reservoir, Thomas Nyanda Reuben

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Pineview Reservoir, near Utah’s populous Wasatch Front, could play an important role in modulating water supply as water demands and water uses change in response to increasing population densities. The reservoir’s water quality may decline if nitrogen and phosphorus additions to the reservoir are not controlled. Most of the water flowing into the reservoir in summer and fall is contributed by the shallow ground water. The quantity and quality of the shallow ground water to Pineview Reservoir were studied from February 2010 through November 2011. The objectives were to: 1) increase understanding of nitrogen and phosphorus transport from ground water …

Optical Sensors For Mapping Temperature And Winds In The Thermosphere From A Cubesat Platform, Stephanie Whalen Sullivan

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In the same way that mariners desire to know the weather their ships are about to encounter, satellite owners would like to know the conditions along their satellites' orbits. Accurate forecasts would allow operators to secure sensitive components prior to passing through a storm to reduce the risk of damage. Large solar arrays, which can act like sails, can be re-oriented to prevent the satellite from being moved out of its desired orbit. While terrestrial weather forecasters have thousands of sensors with continuous data streams available to generate weather models, very few sensors exist for space weather. Cost of sensing …

Hybrid Photothermal Technique For Microscale Thermal Conductivity Measurement, Zilong Hua

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

In nuclear reactors, the thermal energy generated from the nuclear reactions needs to be transferred all the way through the core of the fuels to the surrounding steam to be utilized. Therefore, thermal conductivity is considered an important thermophysical property of the fuel which needs to be measured. The nuclear fuel microstructure is known to be damaged by neutronirradiation, which can result in sharp, local changes of thermal conductivity. However, most existing thermal conductivity measurement techniques of nuclear fuel are not able to make high spatial-resolution measurements. The objective of this study was to develop a non-contact thermal conductivity measurement …

Water Policy, Planning And Governance - University Of Central Florida, Kaveh Madani

All ECSTATIC Materials

Water Resources Policy, Planning and Governance deals with political, social, economic and administrative systems that affect the use, development, planning, and management of water resources at different levels. Course taught at University of Central Florida.

Architecturally Homogeneous Power-Performance Heterogeneous Multicore Systems, Koushik Chakraborty, Sanghamitra Roy

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

Dynamic voltage and frequency scaling (DVFS), a widely adopted technique to ensure safe thermal characteristics while delivering superior energy efficiency, is rapidly becoming inefficient with technology scaling due to two critical factors: 1) inability to scale the supply voltage due to reliability concerns and 2) dynamic adaptations through DVFS cannot alter underlying power hungry circuit characteristics, designed for the nominal frequency. In this paper, we show that DVFS scaled circuits substantially lag in energy efficiency, by 22%-86%, compared to ground up designs for target frequency levels. We propose architecturally homogeneous power-performance heterogeneous multicore systems, a fundamentally alternate means to design …

Engineered Production Of Fungal Anticancer Cyclooligomer Depsipeptides In Saccharo-Myces Cerevisiae, Dayu Yu, Fuchao Xu, Jiachen Zi, Siyuan Wang, David Gage, Jia Zeng, Jixun Zhan

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Two fungal cyclooligomer depsipeptide synthetases (CODSs), BbBEAS (352 kDa) and BbBSLS (348 kDa) from Beauveria bassiana ATCC 7159, were reconstituted in Saccharomyces cerevisiae BJ5464-NpgA, leading to the production of the corresponding anticancer natural products, beauvericins and bassianolide, respectively. The titers of beauvericins (33.82±1.41 mg/l) and bassianolide (21.74±0.08 mg/l) in the engineered S. cerevisiae BJ5464-NpgA strains were comparable to those in the native producer B. bassiana. Feeding D-hydroxyisovaleric acid (D-Hiv) and the corresponding L-amino acid precursors improved the production of beauvericins and bassianolide. However, the high price of D-Hiv limits its application in large-scale production of these cyclooligomer depsipeptides. Alternatively, we …

Testing Above- And Below-Canopy Representations Of Turbulent Fluxes In An Energy Balance Snowmelt Model, Vinod Mahat, David G. Tarboton, Noah P. Molotch

T.W. "Doc" Daniel Experimental Forest

Turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat are important processes in the surface energy balance that drives snowmelt. Modeling these fluxes in a forested environment is complicated because of the canopy effects on the wind field. This paper presents and tests a turbulent flux model developed to represent these processes in an energy balance snowmelt model. The goal is to model these processes using the readily available inputs of canopy height and leaf area index in a way that minimizes the number of parameters, state variables, and assumptions about hard to quantify processes. Selected periods from 9 years of eddy-covariance …

Testing Above- And Below-Canopy Representations Of Turbulent Fluxes In An Energy Balance Snowmelt Model, Vinod Mahat, David G. Tarboton, Noah P. Molotch

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Turbulent fluxes of sensible and latent heat are important processes in the surface energy balance that drives snowmelt. Modeling these fluxes in a forested environment is complicated because of the canopy effects on the wind field. This paper presents and tests a turbulent flux model developed to represent these processes in an energy balance snowmelt model. The goal is to model these processes using the readily available inputs of canopy height and leaf area index in a way that minimizes the number of parameters, state variables, and assumptions about hard to quantify processes. Selected periods from 9 years of eddy-covariance …

Probabilistic Design And Optimization - University Of California, Davis, Jay R. Lund

All ECSTATIC Materials

Graduate course in probabilistic design and optimization offered at University of California, Davis in Winter 2013.

Pattern Of Task Interpretation And Self-Regulated Learning Strategies Of High School Students And College Freshmen During An Engineering Design Project, Oenardi Lawanto, Deborah Butler, Sylvie Cartier, Harry B. Santoso, Wade H. Goodridge, Kevin N. Lawanto, David Clark

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

The objective of this exploratory study was to describe patterns in self-regulated learning (SRL) for secondary school and college freshmen while engaged in a design activity. The main research question guiding the study was: In what ways did secondary and first year college students differ in addressing an engineering design project? Specific focus was given by exploring how these two groups of students compared in their (1) task interpretation in relation to reported strategy use during the design process; and (2) task interpretation in relation to reported strategy use in project management. Students at one high school in the state …

Task Interpretation, Cognitive, And Metacognitive Strategies Of Higher And Lower Performers In An Engineering Design Project: An Exploratory Study Of College Freshmen, Oenardi Lawanto, Deborah Butler, Sylvie Cartier, Harry B. Santoso, Wade H. Goodridge

Engineering Education Faculty Publications

This paper examines the task interpretation and strategy use of higher- and lower-performing college freshmen while engaged in an engineering design project using a self-regulated learning (SRL) framework. Our goals were to consider how students’ interpretation of task demands could be associated with their use of planning, cognitive, and monitoring/fix-up strategies, both as part of the design process and when managing their time, resources and teamwork. The main research question that guided the study was: In what ways did higher- vs. lower-performing students differ when engaged in an engineering design project? With regards to this question, we specifically explored how …

Metacom: Automated Data Processing And Analysis Of Metagenomic Community Sequences, Cody A. Tramp, Charles D. Miller

Browse all Datasets

Advances in next generation sequencing technology have allowed metagenomic researchers to study the composition of bacterial communities through analysis of the vast numbers of sequence reads that these technologies generate. It is not feasible to analyze and interpret this large amount of data manually and individual research groups must create automated scripts and programs to analyze this data. Here, we present MetaCom, a program that offers a common set of analysis and organizational tools that can be used by research groups in the analysis of environmental samples. MetaCom is an open-source software tool that can process next generation sequencing output, …

Design And Optimization Of A Thermal Capacitor, Karen Nielson, Jordan Tracy Cox

Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects

Team Hot Stuff designed a thermal capacitor for Senior Design I at Utah State University. This thermal capacitor is intended for use in the food service industry as a low-cost alternative to chafers. Chafers are platters which use oil burners to keep food warm. The client for this thermal capacitor is Thermal Management Technologies (TMT), a company specializing in thermal science solutions whose mission is “to provide simple, practical thermal science solutions to a wide range of platforms including: Industry, Defense, and Space”¹. The founder and president of TMT, Dr. J. Clair Batty, serves as a mentor for …

Ozone Photochemistry In An Oil And Natural Gas Extraction Region During Winter: Simulations Of A Snow-Free Season In The Uintah Basin, Utah, P. M. Edwards, C. J. Young, K. Aikin, J. Degouw, W. P. Dubé, F. Geiger, J. Gillman, D. Helmig, J. S. Holloway, J. Kercher, B. Lerner, Randy S. Martin, R. Mclaren, D. D. Parrish, J. Peischl, J. M. Roberts, T. B. Ryerson, J. Thornton, C. Warneke, E. J. Williams, S. S. Brown

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The Uintah Basin in northeastern Utah, a region of intense oil and gas extraction, experienced ozone (O3) concentrations above levels harmful to human health for multiple days during the winters of 2009–2010 and 2010–2011. These wintertime O3 pollution episodes occur during cold, stable periods when the ground is snow-covered, and have been linked to emissions from the oil and gas extraction process. The Uintah Basin Winter Ozone Study (UBWOS) was a field intensive in early 2012, whose goal was to address current uncertainties in the chemical and physical processes that drive wintertime O3 production in regions of oil and gas …

Assess The Accuracy Of The Variational Asymptotic Plate And Shell Analysis Using The Generalized Uni, Luciano Demasi, Wenbin Yu

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

The accuracy of the Variational Asymptotic Plate and Shell Analysis (VAPAS) is assessed against several higher order, zig zag and layerwise theories generated by using the invariant axiomatic framework denoted as Generalized Unified Formulation (GUF). These theories are also compared against the elasticity solution developed for the case of a sandwich structure with high Face to Core Stiffness Ratio. GUF allows to use an infinite number of axiomatic theories (Equivalent Single Layer theories with or without zig zag effects and Layerwise theories as well) with any combination of orders of the displacements and it is an ideal tool to precisely …

Dnad, A Simple Tool For Automatic Differentiation Of Fortran Codes Using Dual Numbers, Wenbin Yu, Maxwell Blair

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

DNAD (dual number automatic differentiation) is a simple, general-purpose tool to automatically differentiate Fortran codes written in modern Fortran (F90/95/2003) or legacy codes written in previous version of the Fortran language. It implements the forward mode of automatic differentiation using the arithmetic of dual numbers and the operator overloading feature of F90/95/2003. Very minimum changes of the source codes are needed to compute the first derivatives of Fortran programs. The advantages of DNAD in comparison to other existing similar computer codes are its programming simplicity, extensibility, and computational efficiency. Specifically, DNAD is more accurate and efficient than the popular complex-step …

Thermal Conductivity Profile Determination In Proton-Irradiated Zrc By Spatial And Frequency Scanning Thermal Wave Methods, C. Jensen, M. Chirtoc, N. Horny, J. S. Antoniow, H. Pron, Heng Ban

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Faculty Publications

Using complementary thermal wave methods, the irradiation damaged region of zirconium carbide (ZrC) is characterized by quantifiably profiling the thermophysical property degradation. The ZrC sample was irradiated by a 2.6 MeV proton beam at 600 °C to a dose of 1.75 displacements per atom. Spatial scanning techniques including scanning thermal microscopy (SThM), lock-in infrared thermography (lock-in IRT), and photothermal radiometry (PTR) were used to directly map the in-depth profile of thermal conductivity on a cross section of the ZrC sample. The advantages and limitations of each system are discussed and compared, finding consistent results from all techniques. SThM provides the …

Rational Reprogramming Of Fungal Polyketide First Ring Cyclization, Yuquan Xu, Tong Zhou, Zhengfu Zhou, Shiyou Su, Sue A. Roberts, William R. Montfort, Jia Zeng, Ming Chen, Wei Zhang, Min Lin, Jixun Zhan, Istvan Molnar

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Resorcylic acid lactones (RAL) and dihydroxyphenylacetic acid lactones (DAL) represent important pharmacophores with heat shock response and immune system modulatory activities. The biosynthesis of these fungal polyketides involves a pair of collaborating iterative polyketide synthases (iPKSs): a highly reducing iPKS (hrPKS) whose product is further elaborated by a nonreducing iPKS (nrPKS) to yield a 1,3-benzenediol moiety bridged by a macrolactone. Biosynthesis of unreduced polyketides requires the sequestration and programmed cyclization of highly reactive poly-β-ketoacyl intermediates to channel these uncommitted, pluripotent substrates towards defined subsets of the polyketide structural space. Catalyzed by product template (PT) domains of the fungal nrPKSs and …

Design And Application Of An In Vivo Reporter Assay For Phenylalanine Ammonialyase, S. Wang, S. Zhang, T. Zhou, J. Zeng, Jixun Zhan

Biological Engineering Faculty Publications

Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL) is an important enzyme that links primary metabolism to secondary metabolism. Its efficiency is often a critical factor that affects the overall flux of a related metabolic pathway, the titer of the final products, and the efficacy of PAL-based therapies. Thus, PAL is a common target for metabolic engineering and it is of significant interest to screen efficient PALs for industrial and medical applications. In this study, a novel and efficient visible reporter assay for screening of PAL efficiency in Escherichia coli was established based on a plant type III polyketide biosynthetic pathway. The candidate PALs were …

Combining Data From Multiple Sources Using The Cuahsi Hydrologic Information System (Invited), David G. Tarboton, Daniel Ames, Jeffery S. Horsburgh, J. L. Goodall

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

The Consortium of Universities for the Advancement of Hydrologic Science, Inc. (CUAHSI) has developed a Hydrologic Information System (HIS) to provide better access to data by enabling the publication, cataloging, discovery, retrieval, and analysis of hydrologic data using web services. The CUAHSI HIS is an Internet based system comprised of hydrologic databases and servers connected through web services as well as software for data publication, discovery and access. The HIS metadata catalog lists close to 100 web services registered to provide data through this system, ranging from large federal agency data sets to experimental watersheds managed by University investigators. The …

Advancing Cyberinfrastructure To Support High Resolution Water Resources Modeling (Invited), David G. Tarboton, F. L. Ogden, N. Jones, Jeffery S. Horsburgh

Civil and Environmental Engineering Faculty Publications

Addressing the problem of how the availability and quality of water resources at large scales are sensitive to climate variability, watershed alterations and management activities requires computational resources that combine data from multiple sources and support integrated modeling. Related cyberinfrastructure challenges include: 1) how can we best structure data and computer models to address this scientific problem through the use of high-performance and data-intensive computing, and 2) how can we do this in a way that discipline scientists without extensive computational and algorithmic knowledge and experience can take advantage of advances in cyberinfrastructure? This presentation will describe a new system …

Creating Tomorrow, Fall 2012, College Of Engineering

College of Engineering Magazines

Annual magazine for the College of Engineering at Utah State University.

Urban Trail System Planning In The Western United States: An Analysis Of The Trail-Specific Planning Efforts Of Four Cities That Have Implemented Urban Trail Systems, Kenneth C. Richley

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

States in the Western United States are growing at rates outpacing the rest of the nation. This growth is placing pressure on communities to develop their current open space for residential or commercial use. As cities develop a comprehensive open space plans, several elements arise. One critical element is connectivity. This connectivity is most often realized in the form of greenways. In many cities these greenways contain urban trail systems that provide significant recreation and connectivity benefits.

This thesis investigates the current recommended models used to plan for greenway, synthesizes them into a recommended model process, and analyzes case studies …

Investigation Of The Noise Floor Of The Standard Piv Cross-Correlation Algorithm, Kyle L. Jones

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Particle image velocimetry (PIV) is a powerful measurement technique used to acquire instantaneous measurements of entire flow fields at a given instant in time. Quantifying the uncertainty and error in PIV is a critical part of realizing the full potential of PIV as a flow measurement technique.

The noise floor of PIV is the minimum amount of random error that can be achieved for a particular standard cross-correlation (SCC) algorithm. The noise floor of the SCC used by DaVis in correlating image pairs is explored. Two methods for creating image pairs for correlation are compared, namely pseudo image pairs and …

Hydraulic Modeling: Pipe Network Analysis, Trevor T. Datwyler

All Graduate Plan B and other Reports, Spring 1920 to Spring 2023

Water modeling is becoming an increasingly important part of hydraulic engineering. One application of hydraulic modeling is pipe network analysis. Using programmed algorithms to repeatedly solve continuity and energy equations, computer software can greatly reduce the amount of time required to analyze a closed conduit system. Such hydraulic models can become a valuable tool for cities to maintain their water systems and plan for future growth. The Utah Division of Drinking Water regulations require cities to maintain hydraulic models of their culinary water systems, and before additional connections can be made to the water system, a licensed professional engineer must …

Laboratory Modeling Of Critical Hydraulic Conditions For The Initiation Of Piping, Mandie Swainston Fleshman

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The objective of this research is to provide fundamental understanding of the piping phenomenon. This will lead to practical solutions to the critical hydraulic conditions for piping that account for soil properties, direction of flow, stress condition and exit face conditions. In current geotechnical engineering practice, these factors are generally not considered. The critical hydraulic gradient is assumed to be only a function of the soil buoyant unit weight. In recent analyses, laboratory experiments, and field observations indicate that piping can be initiated at gradients much lower than the values predicted by the current practice. The current practice may be …

An Analysis Of Traffic Sign Performance For The Establishment Of A Maintenance Plan, Wesley Bill Boggs

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

For a variety of reasons both within and outside the control of transportation agencies, there is a higher frequency of fatalities during nighttime hours than during daytime hours. In an effort to enhance visual cues for nighttime motorists, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) established the minimum maintained retroreflectivity levels. This retroreflective mandate required agencies or public officials that have jurisdiction over a traffic sign population to implement maintenance methods that would ensure signs were performing at or above the minimum levels. Retroreflectivity is a unique type of reflection that distinguishes itself by reflecting light back in the direction of the …

Performance Characterization Of Complex Fuel Port Geometries For Hybrid Rocket Fuel Grains, Andrew Bath

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Extensive research in hybrid rocket motors has taken place at the department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at USU (Utah State University) in the last several years. USU has one of the few facilities in the country capable of static-test firing rocket motors on-campus, which allows for fast-paced testing and development not available elsewhere. Research has involved investigating propulsion devices for a range of applications, including micro-satellite thrusters, hot-gas generators, and even jet-assisted takeoff kick motors. Hybrid motors have the advantage of safety over any other chemical propulsion. Since the fuel and oxidizer are stored seperately, they are relatively inert …